The Mistress Contract

She hesitated just a second too long before she said, ‘It’s not that. Of course it’s not that I don’t want to.’

‘No?’ It was very dry. ‘Well, we won’t labour the point. I take it you have no objection in calling in Madge’s place on the way back and picking up the terrible Angus? It is en route, so it makes sense.’

She wanted to ask, Why the terrible Angus? but said instead, ‘Yes, of course. That’s fine,’ her voice tight and stiff.

‘And it might be easier to drop him off at my house before I take you home; he doesn’t like travelling and it’ll be less stressful,’ he continued smoothly. ‘We don’t want to distress him.’

Put like that, she could hardly do anything else but agree. She had no idea where he lived, but somehow she didn’t feel she could ask him either. She just hoped it wasn’t too far from Madge’s.

Madge’s house turned out to be a small and awe-inspiringly neat semi in Epping, with a paved front garden methodically interspersed with miniature shrubs. The interior of the building smelt of mothballs and furniture polish and was as spick and span as the front garden. It was exactly Madge—which made Angus all the more of a shock.

The cat was an enormous battle-scarred ginger tom, with a shredded right ear, a twisted tail that looked distinctly the worse for wear and a blemished nose that bore evidence of numerous fights. He was the very antithesis of what Sephy had expected.

He was waiting for them in Madge’s gleaming compact little kitchen when Conrad opened the door from the hall, which had been firmly closed, and it was clear he was confined to that room of the house during the working day from the massive cat flap in the back door, which gave him access to the rear garden, and the big, warm comfortable basket in one corner of the kitchen, next to which were two saucers. Two empty saucers—a fact which the cat immediately brought to their attention by his plaintive miaows.

‘Oh, he must be starving, poor thing.’

Sephy was all concern as the enormous feline wound hopefully round her legs, but as she glanced anxiously at Conrad she saw him shake his head mockingly, and his voice was amused as he said, ‘He’d have you wrapped round one paw the same as he has Madge. If ever a cat could look after itself this one can, I assure you. Angus always has his eye to the main chance and he keeps everyone dancing to his tune.’

It takes one to recognise one.

For an awful moment Sephy thought she had actually spoken the words out loud, but when Conrad’s face didn’t change and he merely gathered up the cat basket and the saucers she breathed out a silent sigh of relief. She’d said more than enough already.

‘See if you can find a tin of cat food for tonight while I take these out to the car. Although once I get him home I dare say Daniella will be feeding him salmon and steak.’ Conrad shook his head again at the huge cat, who eyed him unblinkingly out of serene emerald eyes. ‘He boarded with us last year while Madge had a couple of weeks’ holiday with her sister, and he didn’t taste cat food once.’

‘Daniella?’ Sephy queried carefully as he passed her with the basket. She didn’t think it unreasonable to ask now.

‘My housekeeper,’ he tossed easily over his shoulder.

His housekeeper. As the kitchen door closed behind him Sephy stood staring into space as she pictured a nice, plump, middle-aged little body, and then, as she heard Conrad returning, quickly opened a cupboard or two for the supply of cat food.

Angus submitted perfectly happily to being carried out to the car, his two huge front paws resting on Conrad’s chest as he gazed solemnly at Sephy over Conrad’s shoulder when she followed them out. Once in the Mercedes, however, the calm composure faltered a bit as he crouched on the back seat and began to growl as Conrad started the engine. A low, heated and rather nasty growl.

‘Ignore him.’ Conrad appeared quite unconcerned. ‘He’ll keep that up until we reach home, but as long as he isn’t confined that’s all he’ll do. He just hates being shut in.’

‘How do you know that?’ Sephy asked nervously. The animal was half domestic cat, half lion, and she didn’t fancy having those vicious claws and teeth in the back of her neck.

‘Because I made the mistake of putting him in a cat carrier Madge had provided the last time,’ Conrad said evenly, his face expressionless. ‘It’s called learning the hard way.’

‘Bad idea?’

‘You could say that.’ It was clear the subject wasn’t a favourite one. ‘He’d ripped it apart and escaped before we were halfway home, and he leapt about the car like a demoniac maniac before he decided to take his revenge by scenting every corner.’

‘Oh, I see.’ The mental picture of her suave, cool, imperturbable boss being put in his place so completely by a cat was sweet, and although she managed to keep her face straight there was a gurgle of laughter in her voice as she said, ‘He’s a big cat.’

‘With a big bladder.’ The blue eyes raked her face for one moment. ‘I had the car cleaned three times before I got rid of the odour, and even then the smell wafted back on hot days.’

She glanced round at Angus, who was sitting quite quietly apart from the low, threatening growl in the back of his throat, and as honey-brown eyes met brilliant green she could have sworn the cat winked at her. She smiled at him, she couldn’t help it, and then turned back in her seat again, her eyes scanning the hard male profile at the side of her as she did so. The amusement left her features abruptly.

Somehow she was more entangled in Conrad Quentin’s life after a few hours than she was in Mr Harper’s after working for him for a few years. She didn’t quite know how it had happened, but something was telling her it was unwise at best, and at worst it was downright dangerous. He had something, a drawing power, a magnetism, and how was she going to feel when Madge was back at work and she was unceremoniously dumped back into Customer Services? But that was stupid—she’d feel relieved. Of course she would.

‘My house is on the outskirts of Edgware.’ His voice, calm and controlled and even as always, cut in on her racing thoughts. ‘And I do appreciate you helping me out like this, Sephy.’

The charm was out in full force, she thought with unusual cynicism, but then as she was complying with that determined, hard male will perhaps it wasn’t surprising. He was a man who didn’t like to be crossed, even in the smallest of things. ‘No problem. No problem at all,’ she said lightly, glancing out of the side window at the dark, shadowed road along which they were travelling. ‘Like I said, this has done me a favour in a way.’

‘Ah, yes, the party.’ There was a granite quality to his voice for a moment, and then it cleared as he said silkily, ‘This might surprise you but I don’t usually have to try and persuade a woman to spend time in my company, not since I made my first million anyway. And I can’t remember one refusing dinner before.’

She said nothing, simply because she couldn’t think of anything which would defuse what had suddenly become an electric moment.